Sandwich distributor launches recall, says products could contain tainted meat

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Sandwich distributor launches recall, says products could contain tainted meat
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By The Canadian Press
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OTTAWA - A Calgary-based distributor of ready-made sandwiches has recalled dozens of goods sold in Saskatchewan and Alberta, saying some of them could contain meat products at the centre of a deadly nationwide listeriosis outbreak.


In a statement released early Monday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced the recall by Lucerne Foods, makers of Safeway and TakeAwayCafe brand sandwiches.
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2 Q8 \0 v/ f/ S8 F* p, i( e8 IThe CFIA said the sandwiches may contain some of the pre-packaged meat products recalled by Maple Leaf Foods (TSX:MFI) last week. The massive recall was launched after Listeria bacteria was detected on some of the goods produced at one of the company's Toronto plants.
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9 n7 d9 P3 R0 _/ J" mOnly a handful of products were named in Maple Leaf's initial recall, but the company has since pulled 220 goods as a precautionary measure. Maple Leaf also temporarily shut down the Toronto plant to conduct tests and assess safety procedures.
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Four people have died and 17 others have been reported ill across the country as a result of listeriosis.

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$ ?* b/ }5 I! P  s0 `Senior executives of Maple Leaf have acknowledged that the same strain of Listeria that has been linked to the fatal outbreak has also been detected in one of its plants.
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But Maple Leaf chief financial officer Michael Vels told analysts Monday morning that there's been no direct link between the deaths and his company's products.

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. m# @: ^, g  S; d6 XHe said the expanded recall announced on Saturday, as well as the less extensive recalls announced on Aug. 17 and 19, were done voluntarily and as a precaution.
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Vels added that "there's no evidence of Listeria contamination in our products beyond the production lines originally under investigation."
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He added that Maple Leaf is confident that its recalls have been effective but acknowledged the process is complicated and affects products that may have been manufactured as early as January 2008.

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0 {  B/ l: N+ i9 Q; b"That would be a relatively small number of products. The majority of the products would have been manufactured later in the year," Vels said.

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) N. M+ z  n0 x"Our primary responsibility and need at this stage has been to remove the recalled products from the market.... We've provided the list of products and we've been in direct contact and have talked with every single one of the customers and distributors that have received and distributed that product."

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: Q5 ?+ x/ k0 i. ~+ {1 t& O& A. \" wEfforts to sanitize the Toronto facility were going well and the company hopes to reopen-open it on Tuesday, pending further test results, Vels said.


% ^" f; Y9 \1 @6 ^1 q# {# BThe Lucerne Foods recall involves Safeway subs and sandwiches distributed through Safeway stores in Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as TakeAwayCafe sandwiches sold at Mac's locations in Alberta.
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# ~; R2 Z/ l- I9 r" SDespite the four deaths in the listeriosis outbreak, Federal Health Minister Tony Clement says the incident highlights the effectiveness of Canada's food safety systems.

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"The surveillance system picked up a problem that was occurring and allowed us to respond efficiently and effectively to an emerging public health issue," Clement told an Ottawa news conference Sunday.
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8 T' P: s$ l& G. q# XHe termed it tragic that four people have lost their lives, but insisted nevertheless that "this is an example of where our surveillance system worked."
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Clement acknowledged, when pressed, that there's always room for improvement. But he continued to maintain that once Ottawa was notified of the problem it acted as quickly as possible.

'In those terms, certainly, I think this was a success," he said of the federal response.
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  q9 u. M9 v! C( B"When there's a loss of life involved it is always tragic . . . It should force us to review our protocols, review how we deal with things and see if there are better ways we can do things.

- u  H( J" J5 S, I( o2 d"But once we were aware of the situation (federal officials) acted very quickly."

7 s7 m+ A0 c- y# n+ Y( T3 eOfficials with Canada's Public Health Agency said Canadians need to remain on guard for at least a few more weeks, given listeriosis' lengthy incubation of up to 70 days.

Maple Leaf has posted a full list of products affected on the company's website (www.mapleleaf.ca).

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